Editorial: Intervention in Libya fraught with peril

Associated PressThis Saturday, March 19, 2011 photo provided by the U.S. Navy shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) as it launches a Tomahawk missile in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn from the Mediterranean Sea . The U.S. fired more than 100 cruise missiles from the sea while French fighter jets targeted Moammar Gadhafi's forces from the air on Saturday, launching the broadest international military effort since the Iraq war in support of an uprising that had seemed on the verge of defeat. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Fireman Roderick Eubanks)

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that in the event air strikes fail to dislodge Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi from power, a land invasion was “absolutely” out of the question.

But the president can’t blame the American people for questioning his sincerity on just how far the U.S. will go as coalition forces continue air strikes against government military targets in the North African nation.

We’ve been down this road before. We’re already mired in two wars that we can’t afford - wars that have taken both a financial and human toll on our nation.

While the current intervention - aimed at protecting the Libyan people from its murderous leader - was taken at the urging of the United Nations and the Arab League, we’re troubled that the U.S. could find itself saddled with another conflict with a vaguely defined mission and a questionable outcome.

Even with support from France and Britain, history has shown that the U.S. is almost certain to wind up bearing most of the burden if the conflict is prolonged.

Also troubling is the fact that there was no congressional vote - or even a debate - to authorize the air strikes.

The failure to involve Congress sets a dangerous precedent for future military action by any president in troubled parts of the globe.

The U.S. objective in Libya is also muddy. Gadhafi is without a doubt an international criminal, but so are other Mideast tyrants. We’re also concerned that the Arab League nations, which initially supported this intervention, have not engaged their armies in Libya, even as Saudi Arabia is pitching in to help put down the subjects of another oil-rich monarchy, Bahrain. We’re also not sure that blowing up tanks and command centers falls under most people’s idea of what’s involved in maintaining a no-fly zone.

Obama has said Gadhafi must go, but what if a stalemate ensues? And even if he is overthown, what will be our long-range moral, military and financial obligations to the rebels we are assisting?

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday that he can’t predict how long the no-fly zone operation will last, but that the U.S. could turn over control of it as early as Saturday. That’s tomorrow. We’ll see.